Hip fracture management in the emergency department and its impact on hospital outcomes: a retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

PURPOSE: The emergency department (ED) plays an important role in initiating early treatment for hip fractures and ensuring prompt transfer to orthopaedic wards. This study reported on the care delivered in a tertiary centre ED in Malaysia and the association between time spent in ED with hospital outcomes. METHODS: Patients aged ≥ 65 years with fragility hip fractures and seen by the geriatric team were recruited. Data were collected on patient characteristics, key time points for treatment and hospital outcomes. Median time in ED was used to dichotomise long and short waiting time. RESULTS: 447 patients were recruited. The mean (SD) age was 80.5 (7.0) years and 69.8% were women. 74.9% were prescribed analgesia within 30 min. Median (Q1,Q3) time to diagnostic imaging was 27.0 (24.0-43.0) minutes, clinician confirmation of fracture was 83.0 (49.0-129.0) minutes, and time in ED was 4.8 (3.5-6.9) h. A weekday, weekend, in-hour or out-of-hour admission did not demonstrate a difference in the time important care was delivered. Patients who spent ≥ 5 h in ED had more cardiac events (4.6 vs 10.1%, p = 0.023) and more spent ≥ 14 days in hospital (17.5 vs 29.0%, p = 0.004) compared to those < 5 h. No significant increase in inpatient complications (43.5 vs 34.6%, p = 0.054), length of stay (median, 8 vs 7 days, p = 0.119), care home discharge (5.3 vs 4.6%, p = 0.772), or in-hospital death (6.3 vs 4.2%, p = 0.313) were observed. CONCLUSION: Time to early hip fracture pain relief and diagnosis was adequate in this ED. Time ≥ 5 h in ED was associated with cardiac events and 2 weeks or more inpatient stay.

COVID-19 Infection among Older People Admitted to Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

(1) Background: Older people with COVID-19 infection report worse clinical outcomes. There is a paucity of local data and this study aimed to describe the clinical progression of older people admitted to a university hospital in Malaysia with COVID-19 infection. (2) Methods: Older people (≥60 years) admitted with COVID-19 infection confirmed with RT-PCR from 27 February 2020-25 May 2020 were included in this study. Data on patient characteristics, hospital treatment, and inpatient outcomes were collected via hospital-held electronic medical records. Analysis was done to describe the cohort and identify factors associated with inpatient mortality. (3) Results: 26 participants were included (mean age 76.2 years, female 57.7%). All had at least one comorbid condition and half were frail. About 19.2% had non-respiratory (atypical) symptoms; 23.1% had a severe disease that required intensive care unit monitoring; 46.2% were given COVID-19 targeted therapy. Inpatient mortality and overall complication rates were 23.1% and 42.3%, respectively. Delirium on presentation and lower Ct-value were associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: Older people with COVID-19 infection have severe infection and poor hospital outcomes. Vigilant hospital care is necessary to address their multimorbidity and frailty, along with appropriate treatment for their infection.